Ponciano Corral Acosta

Ponciano Corral Acosta (1805-8 November 1855) was President of Nicaragua from 12 March to 10 April 1855, succeeding Fruto Chamorro and preceding Jose Maria Estrada. He was a Conservative Party of Nicaragua member, and he served as William Walker's puppet president for a month before being executed by firing squad.

Biography
Ponciano Corral Acosta was born in Granada, Nicaragua in 1805, and he worked as a clerk before becoming a State Legislative Assembly deputy in 1837, a senator in 1848, and a minister in 1851. He had ambitions for the presidency, but fellow Conservative Party of Nicaragua politician Fruto Chamorro was selected instead. After Chamorro was overthrown by William Walker's filibuster army in 1855, Walker was persuaded by his lawyer Byron Cole to choose Corral as his puppet president on the condition that Walker was made commander-in-chief of the army; Walker also took Corral's mistress Dona Yrena for himself. However, Corral knew that he had effectively handed over all power to Walker, so he secretly contacted the governments of Guatemala and Honduras about restoring him to power. After Walker noticed Yrena and Corral still together as they were about to enter a church, Walker decided that he could no longer trust Corral, and he had him executed by firing squad on 8 November 1855.